Of Irish Blood by Mary Pat Kelly

Of Irish Blood by Mary Pat Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's 1903. Nora Kelly, twenty-four, is talented, outspoken, progressive, and climbing the ladder of opportunity, until she falls for an attractive but dangerous man who sends her running back to the Old World her family had fled. Nora takes on Paris, mixing with couturiers, artists, and "les femmes Americaines" of the Left Bank such as Gertrude Stein and Sylvia Beach. But when she stumbles into the centuries-old Collège des Irlandais, a good-looking scholar, an unconventional priest, and Ireland's revolutionary women challenge Nora to honor her Irish blood and join the struggle to free Ireland.

Author Mary Pat Kelly weaves historical characters such as Maud Gonne, William Butler Yeats, Countess Markievicz, Michael Collins, and Eamon de Valera, as well as Gabrielle Chanel, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, and Nora Barnicle, into Of Irish Blood, a vivid and compelling story inspired by the life of her great-aunt.

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This book could have gotten a higher rating from me if it hadn't been for all the name droppings and for the fact that it felt like it took forever for me to finish the book. Now, this is a book that's over 500 pages long so it's no wonder it took some time for me to finish it. But, still it just felt like the story could have been cut down 100-200 pages or so. But then Nora Kelly would have missed all those wonderful moments of meeting every single famous person that were alive during the beginning of the 1900-century, whether it be a painter, freedom fighter, politician, actress, designer, etc.

Sorry, I will stop with my nagging now. The book was not all bad, I quite liked Nora Kelly and her family. And, it was interesting to read about her life in Paris and everything she experiences, her meeting with Peter, the man she would come to love, and everything she went through during WW1 and after. I especially liked her involvement with the moment to free Ireland and how she would, in the end, travel to Ireland and Galway where her grandmother was born. It felt like a closing of a circle since the first book Galway Bay (That I haven't read) is about Honora Keeley, Nora's grandmother that she is named after and who left Ireland together with her husband Michael and used to tell little Nora stories about Ireland.

So yes, I enjoyed the book, but alas I also felt that the story dragged now and then and that sometimes it was just too many famous people in the story that Nora just had to meet. Still, the book was well-written and well researched and I wouldn't mind reading Galway Bay.

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Swerve by Vicki Pettersson

Swerve by Vicki Pettersson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s high summer in the Mojave Desert, and Kristine Rush and her fiancé, Daniel, are en route from Las Vegas to Lake Arrowhead, California, for the July Fourth holiday weekend. But when Daniel is abducted from a desolate rest stop, Kristine is forced to choose: return home unharmed, but never to see her fiancé again, or plunge forward into the searing desert to find him…where a killer lies in wait.

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I had before I read Swerve read a lot of positive reviews of the book, so after finishing quite a heavy book did I decide that I would go for Swerve since I felt I needed to read something intense and thrilling. I just hoped that the book wasn't overhyped.

I had some problems getting into the story, in the beginning. I just couldn't really connect to it, it didn't feel that special to be honest. I felt that I lacked a thrilling intro and I didn't even feel that this was something special when Daniel got kidnapped and she had to drive off to save his life. I wonder if I didn't already subconscious suspected the big twist that would come a bit later and that's what made me less than thrilled about the story. Yeah, the BIG twist. I saw that a mile away and I was a bit frustrated with how easy it was to figure it out and that the author had actually in the end gone for that.

Then the book turned around and become good (or at least, better) because now Kristine really got to show that the kidnapper had really started to mess with the wrong woman. Now, her past is revealed to the readers and she starts to really fight for what's precious to her. And, that's the best part of the book. I really came to like Kristine when she showed just how furiously she can be when pushed too far.

So was the book overhyped? A bit without a doubt. But still, the book turned out quite good, thanks to a superb heroine!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Blood Sisters by Graham Masterton

Blood Sisters by Graham Masterton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Blood Sisters is book 5 in the Katie Maguire series. I haven't previous read any books in this series, but it was no problem getting into the story and I never felt confused with past events since everything was explained well during the book.

DS Katie Maguire must catch a killer that torture and kill nuns. The question is why are the nuns killed, is is because something in the past. Then a jawbone of a child is found in the garden of the convent. Could the finding have anything to do with the killing? 

The cover and the blurb made me interested in reading the book and I was pleased when I was approved to read this book on NetGalley.

The book started off good in a bad way with the finding of several dead horses that had been forced over a cliff, but I must admit as the story progressed my interest in the story waned. I just couldn't find myself interested in what was going on. Sometimes it felt that there was just too many sidetracks in this story that the main story lost a bit focus. Some sidetrack had a connection, but some of them had a connection to past events. And, I felt that all too often what was happening in the book just didn't interest me and I think partly that was because I never connected with the characters in this the book. Katie Maguire is pregnant with another man's child and she struggles through the book to be able to tell her boyfriend that left her before she got pregnant that she is expecting a child that's not his. She also has a problem with a female college that's in love with her and is thinking of leaving the force because of that. But I just neve really cared about it all. The characters never came alive for me.

The book was not all that bad, it was sometimes very tragic, although some very descriptive scenes involving torture could I have lived without and I felt really sorry for the horses. And, I could actually imagine myself reading another book in this series, just to see if it was just this book that didn't work for me. Also, because the book ended with a cliffhanger and I want to know what happens next...

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

The Shiro Project by David S. Khara

The Shiro Project by David S. Khara
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Can a lone man stop mass destruction looming from the past?

Reporter Branislav Poborsky is running away from a bad marriage, when he witnesses the Czech army covering up the extermination of an entire village. Saved in extremis by the gentle-giant Mossad agent Eytan Morgenstern, he is thrown into a troubling race to defuse a larger-than-life conspiracy. After Eytan’s mentor is kidnapped, he must join forces with his arch-rival to put an end to a mysterious group that has weapons of mass destruction. 

Once again, the atrocities of World War II come back to haunt the modern world. What links exist between Japanese camps in China in the 1940s, a US Army research center in the 1950s, and the deadly threat Eytan faces today? From Prague to Tokyo, with stops in Ireland, yesterday’s enemies become today’s best allies and mankind seems on the verge of repeating the errors of the past. What can a lone man do against the madness that is bound to follow?

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I manage to miss this book and go straight to book 3; The Morgenstern Project in the Consortium series. But I have now corrected that. And, while the book was, for the most part, OK did I miss Jeremy Corbin and Jacqueline Walls from book 1 and 3. I just love the banter between Jeremy and Eyton.

Although I did enjoy reading about Eytan Morgenstern and Elena working together, despite their previous bad history. And, it was nice to learn how Eli and Eyton first met (a very sweet flashback) and how Elena came to be the person she is today.

I think reading the books in chronological order is probably best, there are past events that makes much more sense if you have read the previous books. I just wish I had read this book before The Morgenstern Project because for instance the ending really makes sense of the beginning of The Morgenstern Project.

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd

A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Bess Crawford is on leave from the front when she stumbles over a woman outside her house. She takes pity on her and learns that the women has been struck by her husband and has fled to London. She slowly gains the woman's trust and learns that her name is Lydia and that her husband's name is Roger. Bess agrees to travel with her home to her house in the country. But this act of kindness will result in quite a lot of trouble as everyone in the household inclusive Bess will be suspected in a murder case. 

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Once again has Charles Todd written an engrossing historical novel with where Bess en up having to find out the truth. She must try to figure out why anyone would kill a houseguest, but this time, even she is a suspect. Prior to the man's death has he asked Roger at dinner about a child that looked like Julianna, Rogers little sister that died when she was just 6 years old. But who is the child in question and could that simple question really be the reason for his death?

As much as I enjoyed the book and the mystery was I also a bit puzzled why it all had to be such a hush-hush thing. When the truth finally was revealed about the child was not that overly surprised, I would have liked a more interesting and perhaps surprising mystery than that. I felt that the family mourning of Julianna was frankly a bit over-the-top sometimes that it could affect the present time that much. Yeah, it was tragical, and yeah she was a beautiful child. But sometimes the truth could perhaps save some heartache and time. Still I enjoyed finding out the truth even though it was a little let down that it wasn't that complex.

But the murders is all whole other story, I failed to realize who the murder was. It wasn't until Bess and Simon Brandon realized who it was and then everything made sense.

One thing that really pleased me (and confused me) was that Sergeant Lassiter Larimore has finally made his first entrance in this book series. I am a bit confused about the name of him since I read about him A Pattern of Lies where he was Sergeant Lassiter, but here is he called Sergeant Larimore. Could there really be two different Aussie Sergeants with the same trademark Kookaburra laughter?

I just have to read on to figure it out...

Phantom Evil by Heather Graham

Phantom Evil by Heather Graham
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

A secret government unit, a group of renegade paranormal investigators... and a murder no one else can crack.

Though haunted by the recent deaths of two teammates, Jackson Crow knows that the living commit the most heinous crimes.

A police officer utilizing her paranormal intuition, Angela Hawkins already has her hands full of mystery and bloodshed.

But one assignment calls to them too strongly to resist. In a historic mansion in New Orleans's French Quarter, a senator's wife falls to her death. Most think she jumped; some say she was pushed. And yet others believe she was beckoned by the ghostly spirits inhabiting the house — once the site of a serial killer's grisly work.

In this seemingly unsolvable case, only one thing is certain: whether supernatural or all too human, crimes of passion will cast Jackson and Angela into danger of losing their lives... and their immortal souls.

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What I was after was a lighthearted fun paranormal book, an easy book to read when you are in need of something frivolous after some heavy dark books. What I got was a book that lacked any depth whatsoever. Characters that are not memorable, two main characters that at first doesn't seem to really go along, but end up in bed after a day or two. And, then they have some more sex during the book just because why the hell not. I mean they are working, trying to figure out if a woman was murdered or not, but nevermind that.

I'm so completely sick and tired of books that make the main characters sleep with each other almost right after they meet. Of course, they must have a pretend we are a couple moment before that's not so pretending.

In short, this is a stupid book. It lacks charm and it lacks an interesting story. It's also painfully slow to get through, and I read it is Swedish and I was skimming a hell of a lot of it and still, I suffered.

I have read a book in this series before and that one was better than this one and since then have I been curious about reading more. Now I don't have to be curious anymore. I'm also pleased that the book didn't cost me a dime.

Will I read more? I do own an eBook in this series, but I will not read it anytime soon!

Harley Quinn, Vol. 3: Kiss Kiss Bang Stab by Amanda Conner

Harley Quinn, Vol. 3: Kiss Kiss Bang Stab by Amanda Conner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Harley was certain she could have it all: She could be the world's best landlord, protect Coney Island from the scum of the Earth, woo Mason Macabre, work her day job as a psychiatrist, volunteer at the puppy shelter...but that's a whole lot of spinning plates, and eventually they're bound to start breaking! What happens when a psychopath cracks up? Is it possible for Harley to go even more insane?!

Collects HARLEY QUINN #14-15, HARLEY QUINN ANNUAL #1, HARLEY QUINN VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL #1, and HARLEY QUINN HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1.

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This is the best Harley Quinn volume I read so far! Unfortunately, for some reason did I wait 3 months to write this review, but thanks to screen shots can I retell some of the best parts of this volume where Harley has to save Ivy, puppies, and Bruce Wayne? Yes, Bruce is being auctioned off and Harley of course just have to buy him, especially since the money will go to helping animals...

But first, let's start off with Poison Ivy losing her memory and Harley is trying, in her own way, to help get Ivy's memory back. Since Ivy isn't really Sleeping Beauty doesn't this really work as planned.

Oh, and here is the big bad...head that is behind Ivy's memory loss. He is actually just a misunderstood...head.

But the best part is at the Charity gala where Bruce Wayne is auctioned off. Of course, the gala is crashed by two bad men trying to rob it. But luckily for Bruce is Harley there to save him.

And, of course, she just has to end the night with a kiss...

or two...

All and all a truly wonderful volume loved it very much and I'm looking forward to reading the next one. I just hope that Harley's puddin' is in it! ;)

Some bonus screenshots:

I want to thank the publisher and Edelweiss for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Miasma by Greg Cox

Miasma by Greg Cox
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Enterprise is transporting a group of diplomats when a mysterious alien signal is detected from a planet. Spock, Doctor McCoy and Chekov and some bait...eh I mean red shirts, I mean some other crewmembers* are taking a shuttle down to find out more since it's unclear if the beacon is a distress signal or an invitation or even a warning. But, they crash because of some unforeseen circumstances and they can't send a distress signal back to the Enterprise.

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This is a short Star Trek story that didn't take that long to read. I think the story would perhaps have been more interesting to read if it had been longer, now it felt like reading a script for an episode instead of a novel. It's short and concise, but it doesn't really grab hold of your interest since, despite the fact that Spock is wounded is it more likely that the crewmembers that are traveling with him Doctor McCoy, and Chekov are the once that are likely to be killed.

And, this story also reminded me of the episode in TOS when Spock and McCoy in the Galileo crashed on another planet. And, they even discussed that crashed in this story. It's interesting that they crashed in a shuttle called the Galileo in that story too. But now Spock has a bit different attitude than he had in the episode. But, then it's been 20 years since that happened.

The story was OK, not that surprising, but still, it's the old gang and I love reading a story with them in it. I like the new movies, but I do prefer the original tv-series and movies.

*The story is taking place some years after Wrath of Khan so now everyone is wearing red. But still the crewmembers are just bait!

I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!